It's Been Fun
by Dark Hoodie
Summary: When a humble village is under siege from a clan of bloodthirsty ninjas, Maxi helps out in defending it. Just when things look grim, an echo of his past comes back to help him combat the vandals...


"**It's Been Fun"**

Today was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful days of the year. The sky was a crystal-clear blue, the sea glistened like diamonds in the sunlight, and the birds sang merrily. Today was beautiful indeed.

In the jovial, humble village of the sea, the denizens happily went along their daily business of trading, shopping, and working. It started out as a day like no other, and the villagers were not expecting anything out of the ordinary, but little did they know that chaos and destruction would soon be unleashed upon their tranquil homes.

Through the town walked Maxi, a skilled warrior and sea captain who has seen countless journeys and fought numerous thugs, monsters, and villains, walked peacefully among the villagers. He had left his companions, Natsu, Xiba, and Leixia, for a while just to get some time to clear his head.

He approached a frail but warm-hearted old woman selling oranges at a cart. The tender woman looked up through wrinkled eyes and said, "Oh, hello there, young man."

Maxi smirked at her calling him, "young man". After all, he wasn't very young. Perhaps he was just gifted with a youthful appearance.

The sea captain took a look at her commodities for a moment, and he picked up one of the oranges. He tossed it up and down with his hand, juggling it a little.

"So…are these fresh?" Inquired Maxi, smiling a bit at the kind old woman. "Oh yes," replied the sweet grandmother. "My daughter just picked them this morning. She and I worked ever so hard to grow them."

"I can see that," answered Maxi, his following the orange as it moved up and down. "You both did an awesome job. These look great."

He stopped, turned to the lady and asked, "How much?"

The elderly woman grinned and said, "For you, young man, no charge."

The nunchaku-wielding fighter raised his eyebrows. He smiled a bit as well, and he reached into his pocket, and pulled out some money for the woman (more than the orange's initial price). He stuck it out to her and he replied, "I'll pay you double for it."

She smiled once again, and asked him, "Would you like to join me for some tea?" Maxi returned the grin and was about to answer her, when all of a sudden, a young woman came sprinting down the street yelling, "Mother! Mother!" She was raggedly-dressed, but had a very attractive face and body.

"What is it, Sanvu?" Asked the old woman, slowly getting up from the floor.

"Mother, it's the Forest Demons! They're riding into town!"

The elderly woman gasped and placed her hands over her mouth in shock. Maxi tightened his fists and gritted his teeth.

He knew the Forest Demons all too well. They were a crime syndicate of vandals that portrayed themselves as thieves and assassins, who often left entire villages in ruins. They had made a name for themselves throughout Asia, and they were even beginning to spread out into Europe. Whenever the Forest Demons rode into a town, it was left in rubble and ashes, with dozens of innocent people killed. Rumor has it that they even possessed a form of supernatural ability when performing their crimes.

Maxi clenched his trusty nunchaku, and he turned to the two women. "It isn't safe for you two to be out here. Go find shelter, these Forest Demons are out for blood!"

"But what about _you?" _asked Sanvu, the elderly woman's daughter, while putting her hands together nervously. Without looking at her, Maxi quietly replied, "I'll be fine."

The daughter and the mother both exchanged looks of confusion and nervousness for this kind and courageous stranger.

Meanwhile, a few blocks down, screams were heard and the pounding of horse hooves echoed throughout the street. The sounds of crates being smashed, blades being unsheathed, and arrows zipping through the air engulfed the entire village.

The Forest Demons' uniforms consisted of black Kung Fu robes and pants, along with cuffed boots, a mantle, and ninja-esque masks. On their chests, they wore the insignia of their clan.

One poor villager was scrambling to get away from one of the Forest Demons' horseman. The villager was constantly tripping and struggling to get to his feet, repeatedly looking back as his pursuer's black, armor-clad horse that seemed to be flaring flames from its nostrils. The rider unsheathed his katana and raised it over his head. The villager screamed and put his hands over his face, a feeble attempt to shield himself from the death blow that awaited.

Maxi dashed down the street, following the screams and destruction of the Forest Demons. Right around the corner, he saw piles of dead bodies around the street, with wives and family members weeping over their loved ones. Some beheaded, some shot by arrows, some beaten to death, and various other brutal ways of being slain.

The sea captain shook his head in horror and disgust as he ran through this street of the dead, eager to stop these demented assassins from continuing their reign of terror among the innocent people.

Finally, he reached an empty street, possibly abandoned due to the Forest Demons coming through here. Maxi stopped running and looked left to right, when suddenly, an explosion of Forest Demon warriors burst out of hiding and surrounded Maxi, pointing their blades and arrows at him, preventing him from leaving.

The nunchaku-wielding warrior glared at all of them, gripping his weapon even tighter now. At the other end of the street, he observed a single Forest Demon on horseback, watching the entire thing. The difference between him and the other Forest Demons around Maxi was that he wore a black sedge hat that shadowed his face.

He was clearly their leader, because he raised his hand and gave them a signal, and suddenly, they all sprung forward to attack. The moment they did, the leader rode away in a cloud of dust, leaving Maxi for dead.

But Maxi would not go down without a fight.

One of the warriors sprinted at him with their sword drawn, but Maxi evaded his attack and whipped his face with his weapon, sending the warrior sprawling to the ground.

Another one came from the rear, but Maxi leapt into the air and sent forth a fierce kick to his abdomen.

Yet another Forest Demon charged at Maxi, unleashing a fierce roundhouse kick. But the skilled sea captain caught his kick and he hurled him at one of the archers, sending them both tumbling to the floor.

But suddenly, two Forest Demons snatched Maxi's arms in unison and immobilized him. One of the archers then stood in front of the trio, and reared his arm back, ready to let the arrow go and rid themselves of this nuisance. He aimed right for Maxi's heart.

When suddenly, a katana blade pierced itself right through the archer's stomach. The archer let out a blood-curdling gasp and collapsed onto the floor.

Maxi and the two warriors looked down at the fallen warrior, and then their eyes fell upon a man with a golden falcon helmet obscuring his face.

The mysterious warrior tossed aside the blood-stained katana, and said, "It's good to see you again, Maxi."

Maxi's eyes widened, and he was speechless. He couldn't believe it. Was this who he thought it was? "Ki..Kilik?"

The warriors suddenly began charging at Kilik, weapons drawn and all. The two of them released Maxi and sprinted at Kilik.

With ease and great skills, the new Edge Master dodged every single one of their attacks, and swiftly knocked them out with his fists.

One of them attempted to swing their katana at him, but he evaded it and caught his oppressor's hand that held the hilt. Kilik shoved the palm of his hand into the Forest Demon's elbow and shattered the bones in his arm.

Another attempted to fight him with hand-to-hand combat, but Kilik easily put him down with fast attacks and fast dodging.

Soon, Maxi joined his old comrade in dueling these enemies of society. Like old times, both of them fought side by side, ridding the village of these thugs.

"Just like old times, huh Kilik?" Called out Maxi, while dodging strikes and delivering blows with his weapon.

"Indeed it is, Maxi!" answered Kilik, as he put down a few more of the enemy warriors.

After an intense battle, the Forest Demons finally began to retreat. They realized these two were far more powerful than an entire clan of them. With many of their allies broken, bleeding, and/or dead, they withdrew from the fight and fled from there as fast as they could.

Kilik and Maxi watched as the cowardly Forest Demons rode away in a cloud of dust like petulant losers.

Then, Maxi turned to his old friend.

"Kilik…"

"Maxi...it is good to see you, friend. It's been a very long time."

"Almost seventeen years, bud."

While still staring off into the distance, Kilik asked, "How has Xiba been doing with the Kali-Yuga?"

"Ah," replied Maxi with a smile. "The kid's a natural. He prefers eating over training, but uh, he's doing good."

"And Master?"

"He's doing well. He's told me that you and I had done the right thing with passing the Kali-Yuga onto Xiba."

Behind his helmet, Kilik had a small smile form on his lips. "Yes, indeed. It is good to see you my friend. It's been…"

Kilik suddenly cried out in pain and he fell down. "Kilik!" cried Maxi, as he observed his friend collapse to the floor.

He saw an arrow jetting out from his spine.

He bent down and ripped the arrow out. He stared at it for a moment, and realized who it belonged to. On its fletching, he noticed a familiar insignia.

It was a specially-made arrow belonging to the Forest Demon Clan. They were notorious for drenching their arrow heads with highly venomous poison.

Maxi gazed in the direction towards where the arrow had been fired. It was from a hill-top. He could the clan leader, the one with the black sedge hat, staring down at them with a bow in his hand. As Maxi stared at him for a moment, the clan leader, seemed to smile a little, then disappear back into the shadows where he came from.

Just as Maxi was about to give chase, Kilik gasped and groaned. Forgetting the Forest Demon warlord, Maxi got down on his knees and held Kilik in his arms, his closest friend. Blood trickled down the side of Kilik's mouth, and his breathing came in heavy pants.

A few villagers began peeking out of their hiding spots, looking to see what all the screaming was about. They approached the two friends on the floor.

The sea captain stared up and said, "Somebody get me a physician! He needs help _now!" _His eyes then shifted back down to his wounded comrade.

"Maxi…" groaned Kilik.

"Don't talk," responded Maxi, "You'll be alright, Kilik! Don't worry!"

"Maxi…I...I can't move." Maxi's eyebrows raised. The toxins on the tip of the arrow must have had some kind of paralyzing poison. Eventually, they would cause his lungs to stop breathing and he would suffocate.

As a final reassurance of friendship, Maxi grasped the cold hand of his dying friend. "Maxi…you were my greatest friend…you and Xianghua...I'll never…n-never forget those days. Not even in death…"

Maxi felt tears beginning to pool in his eyes. "Now…now I'm off to join Xianglian in paradise."

"Kilik…Kilik, don't say that!" Maxi's voice trembled when he uttered those words. Even though he often portrayed himself as being a cocky, self-confident warrior, he had a soft spot for deaths.

With an extreme effort, the new Edge Master forced a very weak but noticeable grin on his face. With his last breath, he whispered, "Maxi…it's been fun."

Those final words marked Kilik's demise. His hand slumped in Maxi's, and his head tilted back lifelessly.

"…Kilik? Kilik?...Kilik! Kilik, answer me! KILIK!" The sea captain repeated his friend's name to the point of where he was screaming.

"_KILIK, YOU CAN'T DIE! KILIK! KIIIIIILIIIIIIIK!" _

**Maxi stood over the grave of his fallen friend…**

Maxi stared down at it with his fists clenched, remembering those better times he had with his friend. The sun glimmered on the sea, and the grass blew gently in the breeze.

Once again, tears began sparkling in Maxi's eyes.

Suddenly, he heard, "Hey, Maxi!"

It was Xiba's voice. Maxi quickly wiped away the tears from his eyes, and he turned around, forcing a smile on his face.

"Is it lunch time yet?" asked the eager sixteen year old. Maxi smiled a bit, and he ruffled Xiba's hair. "Heh, sure kid. Let's go grab a bite."

And they both walked off into the valley. But Maxi could've sworn that he heard Kilik's voice in the wind, saying, "It's been fun…"


End file.
